Researches 2021
Ukrainian Book Market: Prospects and Opportunities
The Ukrainian Book Institute (UBI) jointly with Livres Canada Books and with financial support from the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine published the research-guide “ Ukrainian Book Market: Prospects and Opportunities.” This guide will help Ukrainian publishers present themselves on the international market and will provide foreign publishers with detailed information about the Ukrainian book market.
Ukrainian Book Market: Prospects and Opportunities
Le marché du livre ukrainien : débouchés et possibilités
The guide was developed by Iryna Baturevych, deputy director of the Ukrainian Book Institute, and Iryna Bielkina, analyst of the UBI.
Reading promotion 2021
Reading promotion 2021
Award ceremony of the Drahomán Prize for excellence in translation
Kyiv, April
Co-organizers: Government entity “The Ukrainian Book Institute,” PEN Ukraine
In 2021, the first award ceremony of the Drahoman Prize winner Claudia Dathe, translator from Ukrainian into German and coordinator of the project, dedicated to literary translation at the University of Tübingen. She was nominated for the Drahoman Prize with her German translations of Serhiy Zhadan’s poetry collection “Antenna” (Suhrkamp Publishing House) and Oleksiy Chupa’s novel “Tales of my Bomb Shelter” (Haymon Verlag Publishing House).
The prize was established by the Ukrainian Book Institute, Ukrainian Institute and PEN Ukraine in 2020. This award was created for translators from Ukrainian into foreign languages. Nominees for the award are selected among translators from any country, having translated at least one published fiction or non-fiction work.
“Read-Write” literary meetings
Eastern regions, April-June
Co-organizers: Serhiy Zhadan Charitable Foundation
In 2021, the Ukrainian Book Institute supported the cultural initiative “Read-Write” literary meetings, all-Ukrainian program, conducted for children and youth in eastern regions of Ukraine. The meetings and contest of reviews organized in the frame of the project are to get children interested in contemporary literary process. Since 2019, the number of partners engaged and contest participants, as well as advertising campaigns about “Read-Write” initiative has been increasing. The following events were organized in 2021:
1) literary meetings with writers in three Ukrainian regions, namely Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions;
2) contest of reviews for schoolchildren in text and video formats (till May 18);
3) filming of videos with the participation of reading experts “How to write/film a review?” (5 units).
Х International Book Arsenal Festival
Kyiv, May
Co-organizer: Mystetskyi Arsenal
In 2021, the Ukrainian Book Institute was the co-organizer of the International Book Arsenal Festival, huge annual intellectual event. The UBI presented “2021–2025 Strategy of reading promotion: further steps,” training “What is ONIX and why libraries and publishers need it” and performance with the participation of leading Ukrainian children’s authors (jointly with “BaraBooka”).
“His word» literary and art event
Online, May
Official organizer: “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”
Official co-organizer: “Dukh i Litera” (Spirit and Letter) Scientific and Publishing Association, the Lviv International Literary Festival (Litfest)
On the occasion of Vasyl Stefanyk’s 150th anniversary, “His word” literary and art event took place. It was a multidisciplinary discussion of the writer’s ideas. Besides, in the frame of the event TV marathon was conducted, including four panel discussions.
Festival “From Country to Ukraine”
June–August
The Ukrainian Book Institute organized the “Open Library” zones on “Meaningful Ukraine” location, as well as activities (QR codes to download books and online lectures about reading/writing literary works, enhancement of local cooperation with libraries) at the festival “From Country to Ukraine.”
The festival “From Country to Ukraine” is a huge cultural and educational event, initiated in 2014 to help local communities in the east of Ukraine fill their cities with the atmosphere of unity, support and Ukrainian spirit. The festival traveled across cities to show peculiarities of diverse contemporary Ukrainian culture.
“365 Bedtime Stories” all-Ukrainian information and education campaign
Online, July–December
Co-organizer: “Megogo” LLC
The UBI launched this campaign last year in order to promote reading among little readers, i.e. preschoolers and elementary school children, as well as to encourage parents and teachers of elementary schools and kindergartens to get children to listen to audiobooks with Ukrainian fairy tales and to develop their reading skills with the help of supplementary exercises to these tales. Following the campaign, 60 interactive audio fairy tales divided into three thematic blocks “Nature,” “Knowledge” and “Heroes” were produced. All the tales correspond to the theme of their block and age group.
August–December
Co-organizers: “Smart Education” NGO, Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, “BaraBooka” project for support of children’s reading
In the frame of this campaign, the UBI wrote, produced and distributed online informational didactic and reference materials for teachers, librarians and parents on the official channels of the UBI, media partners and non-governmental organizations through social media, including purposefully created UBI’s pages and promotion of the campaign in the frame of public events. Methodological materials for reading “#Living Writers: for parents,” intended for joint parents-children reading and including units for elementary and junior school with the description of newly published 2019–2021 books. The books were selected by experts-methodologists working with elementary and junior schools, professional psychologists and literary critics.
“Book Club: Readers” all-Ukrainian reading promotion campaign at the 28th Lviv International Book Forum
Lviv, September
Official organizer: Lviv International Book Forum.
In 2021, the UBI also took part in the Lviv International Book Forum, having taken place offline. In the frame of the Forum, the UBI presented its activity and achievements among international book agents and engaged Forum participants in the professional dialogue and thematic activities. The professional program of the Institute also included the following:
- Presentation of the guide to the Ukrainian book market (published in English and French) created by the Ukrainian Book Institute with the support of the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine and Livres Canada Books.
- Public discussion of publishers from Canada and Ukraine with the participation of the UBI and the embassy in regard to opportunities and prospects for cooperation between the markets; presentation of the professional program for publishers "Ukraine-Canada: book pitching across the ocean."
- Presentation of the campaign “30 iconic books of our Independence.”
- Work of the stand “30 iconic books of our Independence.”
September–October
From September 15 to October 15 Ukrainians voted for their iconic books to form Top 30 of the most important publications, having been published since the declaration of independence. 30 iconic books are those having drawn a wide response, covered major historic periods or events, bolstered understanding of the history of Ukraine without censorship and falsifications, returned figures forgotten or forcefully withdrawn from social discourse, advanced shaping of national identity and formation of our nation’s independence, shaped Ukraine’s image abroad and nudged unity of the whole Ukraine by virtue of high quality and topicality.
A total of 32 thousand persons took part in the voting.
XII Lviv International Library Forum “Library as the independence dimension”
Online, September
Official organizer of the event: “Ukrainian Library Association” all-Ukrainian NGO and NGO “Publishers’ Forum”
At the Lviv International Library Forum, the Ukrainian Book Institute presented the report “Library as the independence dimension”
The Lviv International Library Forum is the meeting place of heads and leading experts of libraries, scientists, professors of higher educational establishments, publishers, authors, readers, providers of information services. “Library as the independence dimension” was the 2021 forum theme.
The event also included design, printing and distribution of two thematic posters about libraries and guide for parents on reading with children.
Dnipro, September
Official organizer: “Book Space” International Book Festival
In 2021, the Ukrainian Book Institute organized and conducted discussion “Reader of the Future” and event “Successful Institutional Collaborations: Drahoman Prize” at the “Book Space” International Book Festival.
The main vector of the discussion “Reader of the Future” was the analysis of challenges and circumstances impacting readers’ mindset, including dangers of clip mentality and rapid development of innovative technologies.
At the event “Successful Institutional Collaborations: Drahoman Prize,” the UBI’s representative Yuliya Kolisnyk and her colleagues from partner organizations presented results of the successful cooperation of three institutions in the frame of the Drahoman Prize for translators.
“Book Space” International Book Festival is based in Dnipro and was held offline on 3–5 September 2021. The festival was created in order to realize the cultural potential of the city of Dnipro and advance culture, education and communication development in the local community. The UBI supports this initiative, which is why two events, namely the discussion “Reader of the Future” and event “Successful Institutional Collaborations: Drahoman Prize” were organized in the frame of the marathon.
October–November
Co-organizers: Children’s Reading Laboratory of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and BaraBooka” project for support of children’s reading
In 2021, the “#Living Writers” project continued its work. The project was launched by the UBI in 2019 in order to support reading among children and young adults, promote works by living children’s writers and provide every Ukrainian family with specific recommendations as to reading. In 2021, the project grew, having added reference materials for reading of children aged 3–14, the catalog with biographical and bibliographical data about contemporary Ukrainian children’s writers and the special information resource (landing page) for promotion of the campaign in kindergartens and schools. The catalog included contemporary and active writers, having authored at least three books.
Online, October–November
Co-organizer: “Pre-School Education” all-Ukrainian scientific and methodological magazine
“#Living Writers: Pre-School” is the project that provided parents and librarians with a practical guide, offering reference materials for reading and didactic materials for children in appendices, developed ty the working group. The reference reading materials block of each book consisted of the following components:
- book presentation (annotation, about the author, cover);
- methodological comment;
- psychologist’s comment;
- practical materials (games, talks, exercises, etc.) based on literary works;
- ideas for decoration of the learning space;
- advice on how to engage parents.
“Book Club: Librarians” professional program for book ecosystem agents
Online, October–November
Co-organizer: NGO “Book of the Year” Cultural and Publishing Project
In order to fully demonstrate diversity of the Ukrainian book market and present “The Best Half-Year Books” rating to librarians and readers, the UBI prepared a video with information about the books selected in eight nominations. All of them were presented in a popular and simple form to enhance interest in the results of “The Book of the Year” all-Ukrainian rating and UBI’s informational activity. Results of the program may be used in libraries for presentations of 2021 books.
“The Journey to the Seaside with Lesya” travelling literary and art festival
Co-organizers: Harmyder theater, DogoryDrygom theater studio and Stendal art society
Online, December
The UBI initiated “The Journey to the Seaside with Lesya” travelling literary and art festival on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Lesya Ukrainka, which was marked in 2021. The event was dedicated to this anniversary and featured the first collection of poems by 17-year-old Lesya, her journey from Volyn to the seaside and her reflections on the grandeur of Ukrainian beauty she had seen during her journey. The travelling festival attracted attention to the young writer and contemporary vision of her literary works, as well as encouraged teenagers and young people of Ukraine to reflect on her creative work with the help of the performance “I am Lesya” having changed stereotypes about Lesya Ukrainka being imprinted during school years.
The aim of the festival was to enhance interest of junior and high school students, educators and all of those working with this target group and with contemporary Ukrainian literary projects (including fiction) through discussions about the points of contact between topics raised in contemporary literature and Lesya Ukrainka, the classical author of Ukrainian literature; to attract attention to the writer as a 17-year-old girl, whose personal and national sufferings and ways to overcome them are the issues our generation of youth can relate to.
“Book Club: Educators” professional program for book ecosystem agents
Online, December
The team of the UBI and “Harmyder” creative group decided to continue drawing pupils/students to literature using alternative ways of learning aimed at making readers perceive the book world, including the world of classic literature, differently, and to discuss the experience of the theater project implementation based on the educational initiative of the “Bureau of theatrical excursions” society. This online event was built on “The Journey to the Seaside with Lesya” travelling literary and art festival organized earlier, in the frame of which the performance “I am Lesya” was created. Ruslana Porytska, director of “I am Lesya” performance, co-founder and teacher of the DogoryDrygom theater studio, acting and rhetoric teacher of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, was one of the speakers. She covered the following topics:
- How should teenagers start a friendly talk with a textbook or, God forbid, a multi-volume books author?
- What is a documentary theater and do we have to talk about it?
- How to create a performance, having started with nothing but a topic and neither script, nor play?
- What is the forum theater and what do we care?
Book exhibition at the Verkhovna Rada on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence
Kyiv, December
On 14 December, the UBI conducted a book exhibition on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence in the premises of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the frame of the “National Reading Week” all-Ukrainian campaign. The exhibition features books of over 30 Ukrainian publishing houses. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko, People’s Deputies Mykyta Poturayev, Yevheniya Kravchuk and Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute Oleksandra Koval took part in the opening of the exhibition. Not only publishers, but also famous public and cultural activists, as well as UBI’s representatives were engaged in the exhibition. In the frame of the exhibition, the press-conference on the state prospects of the government support of book publishing in Ukraine took place, as well as meeting with professor Yaroslav Hrytsak.
“National Reading Week” all-Ukrainian information and education thematic campaign
Online, December
